


The Ambush

by Canadiantardis



Series: Whumptober 2020 [20]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Ambushes and Sneak Attacks, Fem!Sides, Gen, Genderbending, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Royal Deceit | Janus Sanders, Threats of Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Canadiantardis/pseuds/Canadiantardis
Summary: The carriage was stopped halfway to their destination, and when Penny looked out through the curtains, she frowned at how they were in the middle of the forest.
Relationships: Deceit | Janus Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2020 [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920886
Comments: 15
Kudos: 20





	The Ambush

**Author's Note:**

> Day 20: Medieval  
> This prompt was so broad and Medieval fics are my freaking jam so I had too many ideas and couldn't narrow them down. I'm a fan of this universe, though, and I'm almost tempted to continue it, but ultimately I think I'll pre-emptively say I won't because I have enough works to still continue on already, lmao.  
> Enjoy yall!
> 
> Patton: Penny  
> Janus: Janice

The carriage was stopped halfway to their destination, and when Penny looked out through the curtains, she frowned at how they were in the middle of the forest.

“Why have we stopped?” Janice questioned, looking out the same window, her golden eyes flitting around as she frowned. She pulled away and grabbed Penny’s arm. “Do you have a weapon on you?”

“Wh-ah, yes?” Penny patted her right hip, where she kept the small dagger Janice had given to her years ago when it was said she would be the princess’ lady-in-waiting. She always said it was important to not rely solely on the knights and men to protect them.

“Ready it. You have learned to wield it properly, yes?” Janice moved about the carriage, her attention to whatever may be happening outside.

“Yes, but-” Penny tried but Janice shook her head quickly, almost slapping her hand over her mouth to silence her.

“Something’s wrong. We’ve been stopped in the middle of nowhere, and we cannot see anything,” Janice hissed, her words barely detectable. “My best guess is bandits.”

“We know who’s in there!” An unknown voice called outside. “Your Highness, step out and put down your weapons and we won’t have a massacre on our hands.”

The two young women looked at one another, one a little more distressed than the other - Penny really wished she had Janice’s poker face - before Janice took a breath.

She stood up and carefully opened the door, her travelling cloak large enough to hide the fact Penny had not gotten up nor was moving for the open door. It also meant Penny could not see what was happening outside as Janice stood in the doorway.

“What do you want?” The princess asked. “If it is money you wish for, I have a hundred gold on my person alone which I would give freely in exchange for myself and my travelling companions to leave unharmed.”

A laugh and from behind her, Penny watched how Janice stiffened. “We don’t need money, sweetheart. We have orders.”

“And what are those orders? My kidnapping?”

“Something like that.”

Penny jumped when the other door of the carriage opened and an unfamiliar face appeared, a smug sneer blossoming on their face as they saw her. Only able to shriek once, she was grabbed and yanked out of the carriage before a large cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose and when she gasped in surprise, a sweet, cloying taste came from the cloth and her vision spun. She gave a muffled cry, and heard movement before the world went dark and she fell limp.

* * *

Penny awoke to the sounds of the carriage moving, and for a moment, she thought she had dreamt of the entire ambush until she heard low voices speaking, and felt a hand gripping hers, not roughly but as if looking for comfort.

She took a deep breath before she fluttered her eyes open, looking around. They were still in the carriage, but…

“I told you she’d wake up soon, Your Highness,” it was the same voice as earlier, and now Penny had a face to the voice. A young man with wild, dirty dark hair. He wore a loose shirt under a fitted vest and dark pants. A shortsword rested in his lap, one hand casually on the hilt.

He sat next to another unfamiliar man, who looked every inch a bandit that Penny had grown up hearing about.

“You did not have to do that in the first place,” Janice’s voice caused Penny to start. She had been leaning against her side and realized the small bit of warmth had been from the princess.

Penny sat up, leaving the warmth of her friend, glancing from the men on the other side of the carriage to Janice, silently asking to know what happened.

“We had knowledge you always travel with a lady-in-waiting,” the young man shrugged with a smirk. “You were going to be stubborn unless we gave you incentive to come along willingly. As long as _you_ remain complacent,” he pointed to Janice first, before turning his attention on Penny, his deep blue eyes piercing her and she ducked her head, _“she_ will be unharmed.”

Janice squeezed Penny’s hand, but gave no other outward gesture of her fear and anger. “I would have come willingly if you had allowed my companions freedom.”

“Ah, but that would allow your dear mother and father to hear of your capture much too soon,” the man turned the sword over his lap lazily, “And you should thank us for allowing your men a quick end. I could have had them brought along for my friends to break.”

There was something in his words that shot terror through Penny and her breath caught.

“You should also thank us for not doing the same to your lady-in-waiting, Princess. Our orders were only for you to be brought back,” he continued.

“If you or your men _touch_ her again…” The venom in Janice’s voice had Penny squeezing her hand, a bit in warning and a bit in comfort. Janice took a breath. “If you or your men harm her in any way, I will not be complacent.”

The man leant forward, taking his sword off his lap and bringing the end to the floor, and gave a wicked smile. “That almost sounds like a challenge, Your Highness. Careful what you say.” He dug the point of his sword deeper into the wood flooring of the carriage. “Some of my men may spite you deliberately.”

Janice clenched her jaw and gripped Penny’s hand, but did not speak. The carriage continued on in silence.

* * *

As the sun set for the evening, the carriage stopped. The other bandit left the carriage, leaving Penny and Janice with the leader of the bandits. They were silent, as they had been for the last few hours, until there was a knock on one of the doors.

“Ah, there we go,” the man said as he opened the door, gesturing for the women to leave first. “After you.”

Penny was closest to the now-opened door, and with a quick look at Janice, the two stood up and stepped out carefully, refusing the offer for help made by one of the bandits outside. The two kept closed together as they were now surrounded by the bandits without the protection of the carriage. She saw how some of the bandits jeered at them, while others looked at them hungrily and Penny wanted nothing more than to hide away.

“They’ll be sleeping in the carriage until we reach our destination,” the man said as he stepped through onto the ground beside the two women. “Lock one of the doors now, and we’ll lock the other once they’re back.”

“Yessir,” a few of the other bandits said, turning away to get to work.

“You have time to relieve yourselves and eat,” the man told them, putting a hand on Janice’s shoulder and Penny saw how she winced. “Of course it will have to be one at a time, we can’t have you both needing privacy at the same time, and running off while our backs are turned.”

Food was being prepared and the two women were brought towards the middle of the encampment, forced to sit down by the fire where the cooks could keep an eye on them consistently as the others went about their business putting up tents. Finally with time to themselves, Penny tilted closer to Janice to speak quietly to her.

“Are you okay?” She asked, barely above a whisper.

Janice shook her head and gave a quiet laugh. “I should be the one to ask that to _you,_ Penny. You got drugged and was unconscious for a good two hours, at least,” her voice was strained, as if she was barely containing herself. “I was… so scared when I heard you scream, and just in that… that man’s arms… I’m so sorry.”

“Prin-Janice, don’t. It’s safe to say if they hadn’t done so to use me against you, I’d be dead.” The words sent a shiver down her spine as she spoke them aloud. “I would rather be here with you than have you alone in this.”

“Well, _I’d_ rather _you_ be safe. Or, how about, none of this to have happened!” There was a tinge of hysteria in her voice now, her eyes large and watery.

Penny wrapped her arms around the princess, unable to think of what to say. She agreed with Janice, but they both knew there wasn’t much they could do. The bandits had taken all their weapons, and they couldn’t run. Penny barely even knew where they were, or who they were being brought to.

Much too soon, they were being served a simple but bland stew that was more soup than stew. Not that Penny or Janice would complain. They ate in silence, moving as far away from the other bandits as they could without looking suspicious.

After eating and giving their bowls back to the cooks, Janice was taken away to ‘relieve herself’ which left Penny alone. The leader approached her and startled her by putting an arm around her shoulders, effectively trapping her by his side.

“What do you want?” Penny was a tiny bit proud how her voice didn’t waver as much as she feared it would. However, it was a moot point as she could not look him in the face, her head down and her eyes looking at the ground.

“Nothing, at the moment,” he replied casually. “It is nice to see how easy you are, though.”

“If that is all, leave me be, please. I am not ‘easy’ as you say I am.”

“Oh, you’d rather I leave you with one of my men?” There was a certain dark glee in his words as Penny stiffened. “I must warn you, some of them are not as kind as I am, and when they see cute little things like you…” He trailed off, running a hand down Penny's neck, letting her fill in the blanks.

“You are… horrible.” Penny murmured, and gasped when the man squeezed her shoulders painfully.

“Careful, sweetheart. My orders were for your princess. I can easily give you to one of my men once we get our payment. I’d watch my tongue if I were you,” he let her go and she rubbed one of her shoulders lightly, just as Janice was brought back into the camp, and it seemed the man who followed Janice switched with the leader.

Penny was brought a small distance away from the camp and given a little bit of privacy - by little, she meant she was able to mostly hide away from the bandit behind a tree and nearby bushes - and was allowed a bit of time to breathe and come to terms with the situation she and Janice found themselves in. She realized then that her dagger had been taken from her, likely when she had been knocked out, so the two were likely stuck in a bad predicament. No one back home would be expecting to hear back from them for another few days at the earliest, and by the time they realize something isn’t right, who knew where the two of them would be.

When she finally managed to collect most of her thoughts, Penny stood up and stepped around the tree, smoothing over her dress as the bandit snapped his attention to her and soon they were brought back into camp, and directly back to the carriage, where the leader stood outside.

“Welcome back, I do hope you have pleasant dreams, sweetheart,” he smiled at her and tilted her chin up to face him. She only narrowed her eyes at him, silent, before she carefully pulled her chin back and stepped into the carriage where Janice sat with a carefully crafted neutral expression.

At least, it was neutral until the door was shut and they heard a lock and chain rattle against the side. Her expression soon twisted in a mix of fear and anger as the mask she had had on for the last several hours fell away. She slumped forward, sighing wearily.

Penny sat on the other bench, leaning forward to rest a hand on her friend’s knee.

“I know, I know,” the princess waved the unsaid words away, “I promise, we’ll get out of this, I just… need to think of a plan.”

“How long do you think we have?” Penny asked.

Janice sighed again and shook her head. “Not sure. It’ll take a week to get from Taobh to Dorchadas.” Penny sat up straight at the neighbouring country to the west of them. “And then it may take another four days to reach the capital or wherever we’re being taken to exactly.”

“Dorchadas?”

Janice stopped for a moment before it looked like she gave up something internally. “Yes, Dorchadas. Some high-place noble has put a bounty on my head, alive, to be brought to them. I wouldn’t be totally surprised if it had been one of the royal family, considering how they have normally taken consorts and,” she grimaces, “concubines.”

“Are you sure it’s to marry you?” Penny questioned. She hoped that was the reason, but there could always be another reason for Janice’s abduction.

“It’s either to forcibly marry me, or to ransom me back for a ridiculous sum my parents would have to pay for my return.” Her eyes flick over to her. “That man’s threatened you, correct? You were pale when I was brought back.”

Penny looked away and down, putting her hands in her lap. “He said he would give me to one of his men if I tried anything.” Her stomach twisted uncomfortably. “Whoever hired them only wants you, and he said he doesn’t have to keep us together, essentially, when the time comes.”

Janice was silent for a time, only shuffling until she was laying on the bench, head toward the door that had been used the most. “I won’t let them touch you, Penny. On my honour and with all the power I have, you will not be leaving my side.”

Penny certainly hoped Janice had the power to do so.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [ LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:  
> Feedback
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author replies to comments.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Damsels in Distress(?)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125891) by [MsDizzyDahlia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsDizzyDahlia/pseuds/MsDizzyDahlia)




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